Archive of Our Own

She lay back against the cushions, absently noting that someone had put in another skylight. Wonder how long that's been there . Probably a couple of weeks; she was a little oblivious about this stuff. She pushed herself off of the couch and went walking around the base, peeking into a few rooms as she passed them by. Opening one particular door allowed her to discover she wasn't alone in the base, as she'd initially believed. Sasori was sitting in his workshop, hunched over his desk, and clearly tinkering with something or other. She stood in silence watching him for a few minutes, before starting to close the door.

"You know, you're not that quiet," the puppetmaster said drily, never taking his eyes off his work.

"Jesus, Danna, you gave me a heart-attack," Ariana accused, pressing a hand to her chest. 

"Come here."

"Say what?" Ariana blinked bemusedly at him.

"I hate repeating myself," the redhead grumbled. The girl shrugged and closed the door before making her way over to him, her eyes bright with curiosity.

"Did you need something?" he asked after a few moments of silence. She shrugged.

"I was just going for a walk," she replied, fiddling with a lock of hair. "I was curious about the puppets and thought I'd take a peek."

"Hm." Silence fell once again.

"Can you teach me?" she piped up suddenly. His hands stilled. "To make puppets, I mean."

Sasori glanced at her and then back to the puppet limb he was working on. Mentally shrugging, he handed the tool over to her. Ariana grinned and stepped up to the desk as Sasori began giving her a stream of instructions. They were so absorbed in their work that it was nearly midnight when they heard the others come home from their respective missions.

"I should probably sleep," Ariana yawned, covering her mouth with a hand. "Thanks for the lesson, Danna."

With a smile and a small wave, she headed towards the door, her hand just touching the cool metal of the handle when Sasori spoke.

"Come back again tomorrow," he instructed. Ariana turned back and smiled again.

"Sure thing, Danna. Good night," she replied, slipping out of the room. 

Four months later, Ariana was sitting on the edge of the desk as Sasori inspected her first puppet, though due to its small size, she called it a doll. Her heart was pounding as he checked every inch of it, sharp garnet eyes missing nothing. He glanced up at her, his expression blank.

"It's far from perfect," he said, "But for a beginner, it's passable."

"Wow, from you, that's practically busting out champagne," Ariana laughed, twirling a lock of hair around her fingers. Sasori smiled thinly back at her, the smile dropping when she glanced at her watch. "I have to go, Danna. Rosalie and me are going shopping for Konan's birthday," she rambled as she took her puppet and hung it with the others before making a bee-line for the door. "Can't be late-"

"Stay." She froze, slowly turning to stare over her shoulder at him disbelievingly. "Stay, Ariana."

She didn't move. Just stared at him with wide eyes that got even wider when he moved to stand in front of her and take a lock of her golden hair in his fingers before bringing it to his lips.

"Stay," he repeated. Ariana slowly came out of her stupor and smiled at him, touching his face with timid fingers. 

"For how long?" she asked quietly, holding a breath as Sasori pressed a small kiss into the palm of her hand.

"Forever sounds good," he replied and she laughed quietly.

"Forever, then," she agreed, pressing her lips to his in a sweet, gentle kiss.